Water – Weird, Wonderful, and What Else

IMG_3415Wow, it’s good to be back. My last post was in October. I’ve been dealing with a lot of “life stuff” in addition to caring for two of my grandchildren (ages 3 and 1), working on new books and a short story, building up my new business as an independent consultant for Arbonne International, a health and wellness company, and taking part in meetings at my local Toastmasters International club.

I’d like to share my latest speech with you. This is the third speech I’ve given. I recorded it at home using a makeshift green screen background (green fabric hung over the shower rod) and then added some cool backgrounds and music.

For those who can’t view the video, the speech is below, with some added links for anyone who’s interested in learning more.

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Photo by Laura Ritchie, L.M. Ritchie, WANA Commons

Life originated in water. All living things, regardless of size, require H2O to survive.

In the U.S. and other industrialized countries, water is easily accessible with the turn of a knob. It’s so simple and convenient, we may take water for granted as just another ordinary part of our day.

Water is anything but ordinary.

Earth’s water has been in continuous motion for millions of years and is a repeating cycle. Water from streams, rivers, and oceans evaporates and becomes vapor. Once it cools, it condensates into clouds.

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Low Thunderclouds, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma photo by Kristen Nador, WANA Commons

Next, it might fall back to Earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow. It may soak into the soil where plants draw it in, then release it back into the air or it may find its way into a natural aquifer. Perhaps it runs into a river, then into a reservoir, goes through underground pipes, flows out of your faucet and into your teacup.

An amazing fact is that those drops in your cup may have once been dew on a leaf that was eaten by a brachiosaurus, digested, and deposited back to the Earth, or may have been part of a glacier that carved out Yosemite Valley, or perhaps it flowed in the Nile River, which was used for Cleopatra’s bath.

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El Porto Sunset, photo by Jenny Kaczorowski, Cellar Door Films, WANA Commons

Another amazing fact is that the exact same amount of water that existed in prehistoric times still exists today. No more. No less. Just as water continuously moves through its cycle, so, too, it flows through our bodies where it helps maintain the balance of body fluids.

Our bodies are approximately 70% water, and because of that, we are part of the water cycle. Whatever amount of fluid is lost must be replaced by that same amount or we are in danger of becoming dehydrated, which can cause problems such as fatigue, muscle cramps, headaches, and even death.

We are able to live approximately three days without water.

In addition to keeping us alive, drinking enough water has many benefits. It regulates body temperature, helps us lose unwanted weight by drinking it before a meal, gets the digestive tract moving, washes out our kidneys and flushes out toxins, to name a few.

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Rain on Grass, photo by Jenny Kaczorowski, Cellar Door Films, WANA Commons

The Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, said, “There is nothing softer and weaker than water, and yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things.”

Water’s soothing properties can be experienced by soaking in a bathtub or natural hot springs. It can calm and relax us if we listen to or meditate on the sound of it splashing and flowing over pebbles in a stream or cascading down a small waterfall. The rhythm of ocean waves breaking upon a shore can lull us to sleep.

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Niagara Falls Photo by Lisa Hall-Wilson, WANA Commons

The strength and power of water can be seen in Niagara Falls and places like the Grand Canyon, which was slowly carved out by the Colorado River.

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Grand Canyon photo by Jenny Kaczorowski, Cellar Door Films, WANA Commons

So, water is gentle and nourishing, yet powerful and destructive. It has many properties that aren’t fully understood by scientists. Instead of solving its mysteries, recent studies reveal new mysteries.

Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist, conducted research on the effect of ideas, words, and music on the molecules of water. He published his findings in a book titled, The Hidden Messages in Water. (You can learn more here.)

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Lily Pads photo by A. Marie Silver, WANA Commons

He found that water from clear mountain streams has beautifully formed crystalline structures, while the crystals of polluted water are deformed and distorted. He also found that distilled water takes on delicate, symmetrical crystalline shapes when exposed to classical music.

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Iceberg photo by Prudence MacLeod, WANA Commons

I have a feeling these new mysteries uncovered in recent studies are just the tip of the iceberg.

Water is fascinating stuff. Its importance in our lives cannot be overstated. Millions of people don’t have the luxury of turning on a faucet for a drink of water or a shower. Many women in Africa and Asia have to walk an average of 3.7 miles to collect water.

 

Benjamin Franklin said, “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”

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Wishing Well Bucket photo by Natasha Hanova, WANA Commons

How about a shout out to water? Its life-giving source refreshes our bodies and quenches our thirst! It’s soothing, yet powerful, and its mysteries run deep.

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Photo by Lynn Kelley Author, WANA Commons

Three cheers for water! Bottoms up!

* * *

That’s the end of the speech. I wanted to include facts about the cool water tricks in this video, 8 Water Tricks That’ll Melt Your Mind, but the speech could only cover so much in five to eight minutes. Kids will especially love this video.

Here’s another site with facts about water: 40 Shocking Facts About Water – Matador Network.

Do you like to drink water? Love water sports? Ever lived through a drought? A flood? Hurricane? Tsunami? What do you think about this amazing liquid that plays such an important role in our lives? 

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22 Responses to Water – Weird, Wonderful, and What Else

  1. WOW, bestie. You taught me a lot about water. I LOVE that Ben Franklin quote. It’s true. I love water. Here on the farm we have spring water. The very best. We also have a well. I do not like city water. It tastes awful. I have lived through many hurricanes being from the Keys. Wonderful post. I think water gives us life. It s the best thing we can put into our bodies. xoxo

  2. Oh, how awesome that you have spring water on your farm! Yes, way better than city water. How scary to have experienced hurricanes. Water is the best thing we can put into our bodies. We were searching online for a natural blood thinner for youngest daughter, and water is listed! How cool is that? Cheers, bestie! XO Thanks for visiting my blog!

  3. yvettecarol says:

    Hi, sista. Great to have you back! Nice post 🙂 So interesting that music has an effect on water. I say ‘I love you’ to every glass I drink because of studies that have shown things like this have a positive impact on the water’s structure. Also, a well-renowned healer I spoke to last year said I should drink more and that people don’t realize that water is more powerful for healing us than antibiotics! I’ve been really trying hard ever since then to drink more

    • Lynn Kelley says:

      Yvette, how awesome that you say “I love you” to every glass of water you drink! Very cool that you had already heard about the positive effects our words can have on it. I found that to be so fascinating! Yes, listen to that well-renowned healer and keep drinking up! To your health!

  4. Welcome back, Lynn! Great work on the speech. Mind if I repost on my blog this week?

  5. Welcome back and I loved the speech! Learned some things I didn’t know. thanks so much for sharing it. 🙂

  6. Wonderful video, Lynn! You rock. The project I did about the water cycle at junior school was my favorite thing I did at school.

  7. So the same amount of water has always existed? That makes sense, because where would it go? If it evaporates, it comes right back.
    I drink between six and nine bottles a day.
    Great job with the video!

    • Alex, I was surprised to learn it’s the same amount of water, too. But, hey, scientists could be off by a few drops and how would we know? 🙂

      Good for you drinking that much water every day. Me, too! Thank you. So glad you liked the video!

  8. Great speech, Lynn! I never go anywhere without my water bottle. The droughts in SoCal last year really remind me how blessed we are to have good, clean water–and plenty of it–in Dayton, Ohio. Hope the kids enjoy your presentation!

    • Thanks, Jennette. I don’t like to go anywhere without my water bottle either. We’re still in a drought in SoCal. We got a bit of rain, but nowhere near what we need. The kids got a big kick out of my video. Grasshopper said, “You’re in the fishbowl, Grammy! Oh, now you’re in the sink…” And of course I laughed because that’s what grandparents do! 🙂

  9. Really awesome speech, Lynn! Way to go! How do you find time to do so much? 🙂

  10. Diana Beebe says:

    Fabulous presentation! It’s great to see you back online. 🙂 When I was a kid, I lived in the Houston area. Hurricane Alicia came through, and we hunkered down for it. During the eye of the storm at 2 a.m., the whole family put rain jackets on over our pajamas to help pull large pieces of debris so the second half of the storm didn’t turn those pieces into projectiles and cause more damage. Powerful stuff, water!

    • Hi Diana! Great to see you here! I can’t imagine how scary it was for you as a kid, especially running out to get the debris like that. How awful! Yes, so powerful. Sometimes we love it and sometimes we hate it! 🙂

  11. Hey there and welcome back! I practically fell over when I saw your comment on my blog. Missed you.

    As to the water…poor old California is in sore need of that. We’re into our third year of drought here and we’ve had so little rain this winter, that I could spit about that much.

    • Hello Lee, my long lost friend! I’ve missed you, too. Time sure has a way of getting away from us!

      Yep, we sure need rain desperately. I hope we get through this drought soon. Thanks so much for stopping in!

  12. Patricia says:

    Three cheers for water!! Nice video and awesome post. I love the Ben Franklin quote. Lots of folks here in California are sure going to know the value of water this summer, cuz there ain’t gonna be any.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    • You said it, Patricia. It’s not a pretty picture. I’m trying to teach Grasshopper to turn off the facet while we get the suds all over our hands and then rinse. Kind of hard for a three-year-old to understand the concept of conservation. I should look for a YouTube video for little kids. Hmm…

      Cheers to water! And good friends!

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